All of the sudden my 7 month old boy has not been taking his bottle very good at daycare. He is a little guy, but within all of the normal weight ranges. He usually does 4 tablespoons of cereal with half of a jar of fruit & a 5 oz bottle in the mornings, a jar of veggies & a 5 oz bottle in the afternoons at daycare. I know it doesn't sound like much but now since last week he only take 2 or 3 oz of his bottles at each feeding. I breastfeed so it is hard to tell how much he takes at home, but his nursing hasn't shortend or changed so I don't think he is taking less at home. Also, when my husband is home with him thru the week, he takes his bottles just fine. I really don't know what to do to get him to eat at daycare. He takes his foods ok, he gets very distracted!! I am affraid he is getting dehydraded. Any suggestions. Also, we changed from a level 2 to a level 3 nipple hoping it would help but it hasn't. Is it ok to do breastmilk in a sippy cup. Please let me know any suggestions you can offer.
Thank you to everyone for your great suggestions. I have sent a sippy cup to daycare and they say he takes almost all of his bottle in the sippy cup in the afternoons. I do beleive that there is just so much going on that he is more interest in playing than eating. I have also noticed over the weekend a change in his nursing so I think I will start giving him more foods and a bit less milk. Thank you again for all of the great suggestions.
This sounds just like my oldest and my relationship when he also threw away his bottle at 7 mo. We just put his milk and juice in a sippy cup, and did great. He even breastfed for 2.5 yrs.
It's ok to give hime breastmilk anyway you want to! If that's what he's drinking in the bottle - who knows, is it milk from another time (typically it is because we store it, right?!) it may be super filling at this point in his life. It changes with the child. If your 7 month old drinks milk you made when he was 2 months old (for instance) probably higher fat content and satisfies a belly faster! He really should be the best judge of what he needs. Typically, a baby is still in tune with their "insticts" at this age, we just get conditioned out of that as we get older! You could always give him less solids, more milk, if you are concerned about dehydration but you shouldn't worry / stress, just enjoy your beautiful baby boy!
Good Mornign J., I don't think he is getting dehydrated. If he is still nursing at home and taking the amount of milk you mentioned through the day plus his baby food, sounds like his little tummy is full enough.
Sometimes day care is a hard place to feed little ones, so much going on they want to see and be a part of. A lot of children cut down on one thing or another, I wouldn't worry over much unless it is very plan and clear he isn't getting what you think he needs. He should be peachy keen just like he is. Our 9 month old gr son takes a jar of cereal in the afternoons also, and will only take about 2-3 oz. He is just full. Cereal in the mornings, with 6 oz bottle he never finishes, 8 oz bottle at nap time.
Best of everything to you and yours!
K. Nana of 5
It is OK to put breastmilk in a sippy cup. He may just not feel comfortable with someone he dont know feeding him the bottle. You can always try water in a bottle or sippy cup if your worried about him getting dehydrated, my son was drinking water from a sippy cup when he was 5-6 mths old. He was strictly breastfed.
If you do breastmilk in sippy cup make sure it is a BPA free one because if not your child could be getting the chemicals that they process the cups with in the breastmilk. what type of bottle are they using at daycare? you need to make sure they are BPA free because some contain chemicals that have very bad side effects and can cause different types of delays and developmental issues. if you don't believe me check out this site i listed below for more information.www.bpafreekids.com this site was very help full to me if you would like others there are more that i will give you. but this is one that has bpa free bottles,sippys and so on and i order from them. T.
First, breast milk in a sippy cup is okay as long as he is sitting up on his own.
Second, have you thought that maybe the daycare isn't taking the time to actually sit with him and give him his bottle? I've worked at several daycares and one of them I wouldn't recommend to anyone because of that reason. They didn't take the time to properly feed the babies. They expected the babies to feed themselves. Lazy workers. Not in MO so don't ask what daycare. But, check with them. That could be the case. It may not be your son, but them. You may want to give him a bottle at home once a day to teach him to hold his own so he doesn't get neglected at daycare. See if the daycare is holding him or expecting him to hold his own bottle. I would hate for your milk to get waisted. Liquid gold!!! Good luck and God Bless.
I had the same problem with my son. I was really worried about him being dehydrated as well. The dr. told me that he could be weined from the bottle as early as 9 months. So we switched over to the nuk sippy cup (Walmart)it has a rubber nipple and handles. He did wonderful with it. I questioned if our daycare provider just was not taking the time with him and the bottle and with the sippy cup she can just give him the cup and he will fed himself. It works great for us. He is only breastfed as well. Good luck!!!
I agree with the poster said that sometimes they just want to see what's going on. I have a night-time baby. When I sit with him he spends all his time making faces at me, smiling, playing etc. He isn't old enough to feed himself yet. And yet I'm lucky to get 2-3 ounces into him in 20-30 minutes. I do have other kids so I can't sit for an hour at each bottle. The frustrating thing is that when he goes home his mom says he sucks down 8 ounces all at once in just 10 minutes or so. She has just the baby and her husband at home. Here we have my daughter, the other kids, my mother and husband and some pets. It is a lot of distractions.
Suzi
I'm wondering if it's how he is being fed the bottle. Since you are nursing at home and the baby takes the bottle from you Husband, I'm sure that you are holding him or cradling him when you feed him the bottle. Maybe day care is trying to do 2 things as the same time and feed him his bottle while he is sitting up or laying in bed. Just not giving him his bottle the way that makes him feel comfortable. He might just be taking enough to not be hungry and then deciding he doesn't want it unless he is comfortable. Ask day care how he is being fed.
Even being 7 months old if others at the daycare are using sippy cups your son may be wanting to do the same. I gave my youngest breastmilk in a sippy cup and it was fine.
